Not only hockey in Tolyatti
Against the background of a predictable national championship, where the champion is already generally known, the Russian Cup remains a tournament with room for imagination. Here the leader of the Russian Premier League (RPL), St. Petersburg “Zenith” has already withdrawn from the fight, here Yekaterinburg “Ural” is the current owner of the Cup, Moscow “Spartak”. Finally, it is here that the main sensation of the season unfolds. The middle peasants of the First League (next in the standings after the RPL) systematically knock out three Moscow clubs (Torpedo, Lokomotiv and Dynamo), reminding that miracles in football, even in domestic football, are still possible.
For a long time Togliatti sports were associated mainly with hockey and the legendary Lada club, but football in the city is rapidly gaining momentum.
FC Akron Head Coach: We didn’t flinch, but they faltered. This is the Cup, there are games like that. Soccer is spirit. We gave it our all and we moved on
“Akron” still cannot boast of a rich history. The club was founded in 2018, and its achievements so far include the 2020 victory in the Urals matchday. So far, the results are not that brilliant. After 25 rounds (out of 34), the Togliatti players are in 11th place.
However, there are reasons to watch Akron more closely now. First of all, this is a rare example of a private club for our realities. It represents the industrial holding company of the same name. Secondly, the concept of forming the composition causes sympathy. It is based on the return of graduates of the famous Yuri Konoplev Football Academy and players who have already played in Togliatti. By the way, last year Akron entered the Academy’s management structure as a founder.
To football – by train
At the Russian Cup, Akron makes noise not only figuratively, but also in the most direct sense. For the match against Dynamo Moscow, the club management rented a whole train for fans with seven double-decker cars with a total capacity of 448 people. Akron Express. And it’s absolutely free.
So the guest sector of the stadium in Petrovsky Park did not stop the entire match. And the captain of “Akron” Anton Kilin, having received the right to choose the gates for the penalty shootout, preferred those behind which Togliatti Torsida stood. Perhaps his merit lies in the fact that Dynamo realized from the “point” only one attempt out of four.
– We are very happy that we were able to go further! – stated the head coach of “Akron” Yevgeny Kaleshin. – This is the main result. Sense of discussing the content of the game I do not see. Remember the winner. We didn’t flinch, but they wavered. Our team believes that in a single match you can beat an opponent who is superior to you in class. Of course, I wanted Dynamo to get through the game. But today we didn’t play very well, but the opponent was good. But this is a cup, there are such matches. Soccer is spirit. We gave it our all and moved on.
you didn’t keep the promise
But Dynamo’s players and management now have to explain to the fans why the club will go without trophies in its centenary year. The first comments are already there, and they turned out to be different. For example, the ‘blue and white’ captain Daniil Fomin found the strength to apologize for the result.
– So, we don’t have enough skills, we need to work harder in training. There is only one way out – to work harder, try to become better and stronger. We lost important points in the championship, we were knocked out in the cup, so I want to apologize to the fans on behalf of the team and myself.
But Dynamo striker Fedor Smolov chose a different style. After losing to Spartak in the 2022 Cup final, Fedor promised the fans to take the trophy next year. And it turns out that his promise was not fulfilled. When one of the journalists reminded Smolov about this, the footballer replied as sharply as possible: “I promised you, a clown.”
It is unpleasant to hear such words from a mature player who has crossed the 30-year mark. It seems that someone does not know how to lose with dignity. And it’s not just about Smolov. After the match, Dynamo sporting director Zeljko Buvac couldn’t resist. After his exit from the Cup, the Bosnian official was consulted by the future coach of Dynamo Slavisa Jokanovic.
“That’s as stupid a question as you are,” Buvac snapped.
It is very difficult to call Zeljko Buvac a native Dynamo player. Perhaps it is time for both he and Smolov to clarify that such behavior is contrary to the values of the club, which, even by virtue of its membership, must be characterized by restraint and respect for fans and journalists.
Questions about Jokanovic, probably, as well as the incorrect reaction of the Dynamo sports director, did not arise out of nowhere. After the winter break with the ‘blue and white’ something happens. In eight games in all tournaments, just two wins in regulation time. And ahead is a meeting with Spartak in the RPL.
“Roads” to the Cup
But back to the Russian Cup. Recall that the current tournament is held according to an experimental scheme. Clubs in the elite division follow the “RPL path”. His trick is that defeat even in the playoffs does not mean the end of the fight for the trophy. It’s just that the club “falls” on the “path of the regions.” This happened, for example, with “Spartak”, which in a two-round confrontation could not cope with “Ural” from Yekaterinburg. The Urals in the final of the “RPL route” will play the winner of the CSKA pair – “Wings of the Soviets”, which was decided yesterday after the signing of this edition of “RG” for printing. The winner of the RPL route finals advances to the Cup Superfinal.
The “path of the regions” to the Superfinal is more tortuous. Four clubs will compete for the right to reach the final of this key. These are “Spartak”, “Akron”, the loser in a pair of CSKA – “Wings of the Soviets”, and the winner of the match “Krasnodar” – “Rostov”, which will take place today.
The final of the “Route of Regions” will be held in two stages. First, the winners of the semifinals will face each other. And the winner of this match will meet the loser of the RPL path final. And only then – the Superfinal.
where we will look
April 6, Thursday, “Match TV”
20:00 Krasnodar – Rostov. Live broadcast
